Dominant second half propels Texas Tech to rout of Omaha

Wednesday

Nov 14, 2012 at 7:54 PM

Nick Kosmider

As much as Texas Tech wants to get out and run this season, sometimes you have to slow it down to get back on track.

Dejan Kravic scored eight of his career-high 20 points in the first three minutes of the second half Wednesday night, helping turn to a six-point halftime lead against Nebraska-Omaha into a 91-63 rout inside United Spirit Arena.

All of Kravic's early second-half scores came inside the paint, as Tech made a brief, yet effective, departure from its run-and-gun style to develop an inside presence.

Tech coach Chris Walker challenged Kravic near the end of the first half to take advantage of the mismatches he had against Omaha's smaller interior players.

Kravic got the message, scoring on a couple of tough layups inside and a pair of short jump shots in the early stages of the second half. Tech (2-0) opened the period on a 21-8 run and never looked back.

"It was just a matter of finishing and being aggressive," said Kravic, who was a perfect 8 for 8 from the field in the second half.

After Omaha (1-2) trimmed a 12-point lead down to six in the final minutes of the first half, it was all downhill for the Red Raiders, who outscored the visitors 48-26 during the final 20 minutes. It was another balanced effort for Tech, which had three players score at least 15 points.

Jaye Crockett netted a career-high with 22 points off the bench, and he added 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and the fifth of his career.

Crockett checked in three minutes into the game and scored nine quick points, playing with the high energy a clean bill of health has granted him.

"I told Jaye, 'You can be the best spark we have coming off the bench,'" Walker said. "Jaye has embraced that role, never complains, and I'll always have him out there in crucial situations because he presents matchup problems."

Crockett and Kravic combined to shoot 18 of 23 from the field (78 percent). It was the first time two Tech players scored 20 points in the same game since March 6, 2010.

After sluggish second-half performances in its exhibition game and season opener, Tech put together perhaps its best stretch of the young season during Wednesday's second half. The Red Raiders shot 55 percent from the floor during the period and forced 10 Omaha turnovers.

"I'm glad that we came out and put the hammer on 'em," Crockett said.

Tech coach Chris Walker cited rebounding and reducing turnovers as two areas he wanted to see his team improve in its second game of the season, and the Red Raiders excelled in both. Tech secured a 48-27 edge on the boards - 21-6 on the offensive glass - and committed only eight turnovers.

Point guard Josh Gray put together a solid all-around performance with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. He turned the ball over only once after coughing it five times in his college debut last week.

Walker believes Gray will only improve as he continues to understand what his role as point guard means to the team.

"Today's basketball game, with AAU and high school, it's always, 'Me, me, me,' when you're a good player," Walker said. "It's all about you and you scoring. Now it's a situation where you're running a team. He's still learning every day. We're just chipping away. He's watching a lot of film, dissecting his game and becoming a student of the game, and he's learning from that."

Tech's win was the 2,000th non-conference victory for the Big 12 Conference since the league was formed in 1996.

To comment on this story:

nick.kosmider@lubbockonline.com • 766-8735

george.watson@lubbockonline.com • 766-2166

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